The Free Musics by Jack Wright Reviewed

Saxophonist Jack Wright’s first encounter with free jazz occurred in 1967, when a chance meeting with Charlie Haden resulted in Wright’s being invited to see Haden play with Ornette Coleman. Wright, who at the time was a conventional jazz saxophonist, describes the music as having struck him as “chaotic” and the experience as having been “traumatic.” Nevertheless, five years later he was moved to seek it out again. Staring into the abyss had been frightening but compelling. So much so that by 1979, Wright was himself playing free improvisation; since then, he has gone on to sustain a decades-long career as a free player.